Anchorage Daily News

PALMER -- When the newly renovated Downtown Palmer Plaza opened in 2007, it represented the latest addition to Palmer's increasingly bustling shopping district.

Now, with five of six retail tenants moving out or closing, some say the airy, modern plaza has become a symbol of Palmer's difficult relationship with its small businesses.

Several tenants blamed their departures on a combination of factors, including the faltering economy, the decision to cancel this winter's Colony Christmas train and a problem with the building's air conditioning during a run of hot weather. But a bigger problem, they said, was the lack of help they got from the city when road work stole downtown traffic.

Retailers spent the early part of the summer fighting a state-proposed couplet that they feared would funnel customers away from their stores.

They wrangled with the city over talk of tearing up the railroad tracks that run through town, essential for any future runs of the Christmas train that imports Anchorage shoppers.

Then, in mid-June, an old water line burst beneath South Alaska Street, sending a geyser of water into the air and necessitating emergency road repairs that closed large sections of downtown's main artery for much of the summer.

Several business owners said city officials were slow to respond to their requests for help, such as posting signs letting drivers know which side streets were open.

Nonessentials, a specialty food store, suffered its first "zero day" with not one sale, before the city fixed the sign problem, said owner Denise Statz.

Now the store is either going out of business after the holidays or moving elsewhere in Palmer.

"We're not Wal-Mart, we don't have millions of dollars," Statz said. "Most of the people in the building really have pretty limited funding."

EXODUS OF STORES

Gladheart Acres, which sells home-grown honey, hand-crafted soaps and lotions, is staying in the plaza through the holidays but permanently moving to Creekside Plaza in Wasilla.

An ice cream and candy store owned by Statz and her daughter is closing.

Dressed By Celeste, which specializes in women's clothing, accessories and custom-fitted bras, is either moving or closing, a decision owner Celeste Braly expects to make within 30 days.

Valley Winery already moved to a new location on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway, though that move happened because the place where people make their own wine outgrew its plaza location.

Avenue Seven, a high-end children's boutique, moved to Knik-Goose Bay Road in Wasilla.

At least one new tenant is moving into the building -- Kingdom Wargame and Comics.

Building owner Richard Stryken did not return calls for comment.

MARKETING OF PALMER

It's possible the Downtown Palmer Plaza had its own problems, a few business owners said. The air conditioning issues led to inside temperatures in the 90s, tenants said. Plus the plaza's location off the sidewalk makes window-shopping harder, one local business owner pointed out.

Then again plenty of other retailers suffered this summer.

Fireside Books "definitely felt" the effects of road work, said general manager Christopher Dodd.

"We're not going anywhere, but it was definitely a hard year," he said.

City officials don't agree that Palmer has a business-unfriendly atmosphere. Yes, the emergency road work made it hard to get around, but the work needed to be done, said Sara Jansen, the city's special projects coordinator. "We tried to be responsive" to business requests, Jansen said. "I'm sorry they feel we didn't do enough."

But it is true that Palmer needs to do a better job marketing itself as a shopping destination, not only to other Mat-Su communities but to the shoppers in Anchorage, said Kevin Brown, a City Council member who also owns a small marketing and political consulting business. Brown said he expects a proposal for a marketing plan, including an ad campaign, to go before the council this month. Ideally, he said, the city would spend $12,000 to $15,000 on a long-term marketing fund, with local businesses kicking in money for advertising.

"We want to make sure we have bigger than normal crowds for events like Colony Christmas to remind people this is an actual walking shopping district, which is kind of rare in Alaska," he said.

Find Zaz Hollander online at adn.com/contact/zhollander or call 352-6711.

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